Trash in the Apocalypse

The next day...

Jun brought his trusted aids, Adrian, Sheila, and Edward to help with the troubling population of bats in the Angono wild dungeon. The Elite unit was left to guard the Taytay Outpost. Though Black Haven hasn't built a faction hall at the place, it was still an important point of interest and they couldn't live it empty.

The Angono wild dungeon was odd since it creates bat monsters even though there wasn't anyone nearby. This problem forced Marvin to set up clearing teams twice a day to make sure that everyone can sleep peacefully at night.

Although the town's residents actively cleared the wild dungeon, they could still not reach a stable bat population. It was as if there's a gigantic mother bat tied at the dungeon ceiling producing unlimited supplies of bats.

The wild dungeon became problematic enough that Marvin had to request help from Jun.

The group was welcomed warmly. Most of the residents had good faith in Jun and feels thankful for being able to live a stable life. The tons of fish provided daily by Marvin's faction hall was the game changer and the deal sealer. Even if one still wants to find faults with Jun, they might have to look whether they could feed everyone here.

The Castro family who rose into prestige due to their animal farms felt dejected since their worth was lowered. However, Jun reassured them that Black Haven would be fair to them and would buy their porks and chickens.

The Montano family renowned for their metalworking profited by selling their gears to Black Haven. The unique and apocalyptic design of their weapons intrigue a number of people and became a hot-seller for some time in the Guild Hall.

Unfortunately, the weapons only work perfectly for regular carriers, while becoming weakened when fighting Evolved Carriers. If one was not skilled enough, the Evolved Carriers could easily destroy the welded weapons by striking them.

Marvin stepped forward and greeted Jun. "I'm a bit ashamed of having to call you like this, Boss. I know that this could be considered a small matter, but the wild dungeon has turned even stranger. Wild bats started coming out even in the morning. Some of the residents were caught unaware and until now they remain unconscious."

Jun waved his hand and smiled. "Don't fret too much about it. Unexpected things can happen anytime and knowing when to call for help is a good action. Prepare a small gathering and invite all the influential families for some lunch. We'll directly head over at the site and come back after killing the dungeon boss."

Of course, Jun didn't know whether there was really a dungeon boss. He just said it to appear more reliable.

"Yes! I'll have Mia Logro prepare the dishes. He's been waiting for a time to show his thanks for saving his life." Marvin shyly scratched the back of his head.

He wouldn't have been reminded of the chef's name if it weren't for his daily pestering asking when would be Jun's next visit, wanting to serve a delicious feast for his life's savior.

"Great! We'll be back before lunch."

Jun bade farewell and rode Edward's Fiery Dragon. 

With the announcement of Jun's arrival and the chance of meeting him at the lunch gathering, the hopefuls and the ambitious families started to gather unique gifts that might attract Jun's attention. If they were able to get on the leader's good side, their futures would be considered well-off.

The town immediately went alive as if fueled by a mysterious energy.

Mia Logro was one of the people who became busy. He was able to reestablish his catering crew and they turned the Municipal Gymnasium into a decent reception venue.

Ever since people learned that he was close to Jun, everyone started treating him amicably. Still, he preferred to work with his crew since they have a long trust built within them.

They even hunt with each other to further their understandings. 

"I thought I would die that night, but you saved me. With your help, I was able to learn a lot of new things. Please let me serve you this lacking dishes of mine."

After settling his emotions, Mia Logro clapped his hands. "Everyone moved faster. Get more tables and chairs! Make sure that everything is presentable! A lot of people would come, so make sure that everything's working as intended."

Mia Logro pointed left and right and assisted with the venue's general layout before running off to the kitchen. His battle was there, and it was a whole new kind of battle. 

All kinds of ingredients were placed on the kitchen table. Several people stood by the side, waiting for orders.

Mia Logro was in charge of everything and his apprentices were here to watch and learn a few things if they were able to. 

He relaxed his breathing and did some warm-up stretches before proceeding to work. A small wooden rack with a bunch of sheathed knives appeared. It was his weapon at the kitchen table—the kitchen knives.

He pulled one from its sheath and a slight glow appeared on the knife. Mia's energy was flowing to the knife, making it several times sharper.

Afterward, he started slicing the pork in front of him and gave orders to his apprentices. "Start boiling water for soup. Sterilize the ladles and make sure they're dry before we move to the next step."

While working, he started giving small chores to his apprentices. He also explains what he was doing and why he was doing it. The large pork was turned into satisfactory sizes and portions, depending on their use. 

Cooking isn't there just to fill your stomach.

It's also an art. 

— — —

The Fiery Dragon took fifteen minutes to arrive at the wild dungeon site. A team was dispatched to guard the area, making sure people wouldn't cause unnecessary bat hordes.

The jeepney was blocked and stopped for inspection, however, when they realized that it was Jun's group, the guards quickly bowed down and moved to the side.

Everyone got off from the Fiery Dragon and scanned the area. The site was filled with underbrush and foliage. Mature trees could be seen everywhere.

There were three points of interest; a shooting range, a storage warehouse, and the tunnel that leads to the petroglyphs.

"Please forgive us. We didn't know that Lord Jun and his crew would be arriving at this time." said an old man, wearing a worn working sleeve and ragged pants.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." Jun responded.

The old man smiled and showed Jun the way forward. "My name is Dan. I'm the storage warehouse caretaker. These guys are friends from the shooting range. We've been paying close attention to the dungeon since we want to get back what was ours. To be honest, they're just helping me since we're long time friends."

"Oh, you've been driven out from here once?"

"Yeah, when the bats started flying out from the caves regularly, we were forced to move out. We like the peace and quiet here, and in the long run, we became dungeon watchers. We stay out here to watch over the area, so no one would mistakenly enter the dungeon."

"So, are there any tips or information you can give us?"

Dan pondered then said, "Two cauldrons of bats flew out earlier in the morning. One returned while the other hasn't."

Jun nodded his head. "Thank you. Please continue watching over the place. We'll go investigate and see what's going on inside."

"Alright, but please be mindful of where you step," Dan emphasized being extra careful while walking.

"Mister Dan, is the place slippery?" Sheila asked.

"Not really. But there are lots of bat poops everywhere. Unless you don't care about dirtying your footwear, then you can walk anywhere you want."

"Uhh... no please."

Sheila hurriedly ran forward and grabbed on Adrian's arm.

"I'm on scouting duty," Adrian said.

"We should be fine. We're still at the tunnel, it takes at least three minutes before we arrive at the dungeon."

Jun and Edward led the way. The entrance to the tunnel was enough for four of them to walk side by side, but according to the group's current structure, they went by two's.

The tunnel was a man-made tunnel for easier access to the petroglyph site. There was no lighting inside the tunnel, which made everyone use Enhanced Sight for better vision.

And yet, they still couldn't see anything except for the bright exit on the other side of the tunnel.